Flower Dyes Made Easy!

By Ruth Ann Smalley

Let’s get started!

Here’s what you need:

Large glass jar such as the big Yorkshire jar from Honest Weight’s housewares

Pre-mordanted wool yarn

I use small portions of the skein, winding some into a circle and tying it loosely in 3 spots

Tickseed coreopsis flower heads

I bought plants from Honest Weight and planted them in my garden (you can add cosmos if you have them)

Dried hibiscus petals from the Co-op’s bulk herbs section

Tap water

White vinegar any of us already enjoy the vibrant colors of flowers such as cosmos, coreopsis, marigolds, hollyhocks, hibiscus, and zinnias. But did you know that all these flowers also make lovely natural dyes?

Last summer when I started playing with botanical dyes, a new world of color awareness opened up. So many plants and trees are secret sources of beautiful hues. It feels like a form of earth magic to rediscover what our ancestors already knew!

The process for making some plant dyes can seem like following a multi-stage recipe, but some are literally as simple as making tea. So, to encourage you to give it a try, I’m sharing the easiest, most pared-down versions I’ve tried: recipes for solar-dyeing with small-batch tickseed coreopsis and hibiscus dyes.

Most flower dyes are not very powerful, and work best on fibers that have been treated with a “mordant,” which is a substance that helps the color stick to them. That can be something as simple as having pre-soaked them in a soy milk bath. But for those just starting out, it’s easier to buy some already mordanted wool yarn (available locally through Cece’s Wool).

Tickseed Dye:

1 2

Pour hot tap water into the jar, over the flower heads. Set outdoors in sunlight, as you would sun tea. Enjoy watching the yellow color begin pouring out of the flowers into the water. Add the yarn (it can help to wet it first) and let the process begin!

Depending on how sunny it is, the yarn may noticeably take up color within hours. Let it steep for several days. I love watching the water clear as the color transfers to the yarn. For more intense color, repeat this process a few more times, using new batches of flower tea.

Hibiscus Dye:

1

Put dried petals directly in your jar, or in a large muslin “tea bag” to keep fragments from sticking to your wool. For a pink color, just add hot water. For a more purple color, experiment with adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the water.

2 3

For both types of dye, the yarn will retain less color than first appears while it is wet. Depending on your tap water, you may get various shades as well.

When ready, gently squeeze excess water out of the skein, and hang to dry out of direct sunlight. I like to wait a few days before rinsing. Once the rinse water runs clear, hand wash the skein in water with a few drops of Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap, rinse, and air dry again.

Rebecca Burgess, Harvesting Color

Jenny Dean, Wild Color

Rebecca Desnos, Botanical Color at Your Fingertips

Sasha Duerr, The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes